Jets' coach acknowledges QB unhappy with his role

Published 6:48 pm, Monday, December 24, 2012

Ryan acknowledged Monday that Tebow wasn't happy when the coach chose Greg McElroy to start for the benched Mark Sanchez, but insisted Tebow was willing to play in any role Sunday against San Diego — including the wildcat.

"He was disappointed, there's no question," Ryan said Monday. "He was disappointed that he was not named the starter, but with that being said, I'm not going to get into private conversations that I have with players, but it was my decision to use Jeremy Kerley in the wildcat, without question.

"But I'll say this: I believe if Tim's number was called, he would've went in and played. I don't think there's any doubt about that."

A person familiar with the situation told the Associated Press that Tebow asked out of his wildcat offense duties last week after hearing that McElroy, the third-stringer, would get his first NFL start over Tebow, listed as the No. 2 quarterback.

Another person, also familiar with the situation, said that wildcat plays involving Kerley instead of Tebow were added before practice last Wednesday.

Both people spoke on condition of anonymity because the Jets do not disclose personnel discussions.

ESPN New York first reported that Tebow opted out of running wildcat plays. ESPN also reported that Tebow said his relationship with Ryan was "strained" for a few days, but they smoothed things over. Ryan had all three quarterbacks active for Sunday's 27-17 loss, but Tebow never got onto the field in any capacity.

Ryan did not deny that Tebow asked out of running wildcat plays, but also refused to go into any details of what happened.

"I've been transparent and all that stuff without question, but I'm not going to give you a private conversation that I would have with a player," Ryan reiterated. "That's between him and I. If he wants to share whatever the conversation is, Tim or anybody else, then that's up to him."

Ryan was also asked if it could be considered "insubordination" if a player refuses to play in a role designed for him.

"You guys are assuming something's a fact or whatever, and that's fine," Ryan said. "If I would have asked Tim to play in anything, Tim would have gone into the game and done that."

After the game, Tebow would say only that "it just happened" that he didn't play in the wildcat package.

"Well, it's been disappointing," Tebow said of the season. "Obviously, it didn't go as we thought, as I had hoped, but sometimes in life you have that."